Monday, 2 February 2015

Partners with PH: Josh and Nicole

So often people spend years searching for that
thing that inspires there life and gives them purpose. I am lucky because I
found my inspiration early in life and get to reflect on it daily. It is an
incredible feeling to have that kind of inspiration day in and day out. I am
going to pause here and give you a little background before I go any further…

My name is Josh and my wife’s name is Nicole, and
I was asked to share with you a little about our story. Nicole and I met in
college and it didn’t take long for us to realize that we were in love and
meant for each other. We got married May 13th, 2006. In a three week
period of time I graduated college, got married to the woman of my dreams, and
started a new job with a Fortune 500 company that had endless opportunity. Life
couldn’t be better. I felt like nothing could slow us down.

About two months after we got married, Nicole
started having recurring episodes where she would pass out if she pushed herself
to hard physically.At first, the
episodes were not severe and according to her doctor at the time, were
something Nicole would just have to sort of “manage” by adjusting our lifestyle
and taking medications.

Prior to us getting married Nicole had some very
minor symptoms but nothing like this and doctors never seemed to be worried. One
doctor told her the symptoms were all in her head and that nothing was wrong
with her. It’s like I knew something was wrong but since the doctors didn’t
seem too worried about it, I was hopeful it wouldn’t get to bad. I just knew
that I would be there to help her and we would get through it, whatever it was.

In a short period of time the symptoms worsened
and her passing out turned into violent convulsions. One night she had an
episode that was so severe she stopped breathing.I started to give here CPR and called
911.I had no clue what I was doing but
somehow she came to and started breathing again. I am not sure there is a way
to explain the fear I felt at that moment. I thought she was going to die in my
arms right there. Lucky for us God was on our side that night.

The paramedics arrived shortly after I got her to
start breathing again. We ultimately ended up in a hospital in downtown Kansas
City where she was admitted and moved to the critical care unit. Doctor’s ran several
tests to try to figure out why she was having these episodes.She continued to have them in the hospital
and actually coded two more times and was revived by the medical staff. I felt
like life was falling apart and I was losing the most important thing in the
world. After a few days of being admitted she was diagnosed with Primary
Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). I remember feeling confused and wondering what
that really meant.Is it treatable? Is
she going to be ok?

The doctor explained the disease was a chronic
lung disease that causes the heart to fail and that that the average life
expectancy (at the time) after being diagnosed was 3-5 years and with a heart
and lung transplant it could extend from there. He also noted there were
treatment options but very few patients actually get better after starting
treatment. For most patients treatment only slowed the progression of the
disease.

Looking back I remember thinking heart and lung
transplant… really?How is this
happening?She is so young and really
took care of herself. Why Nicole, why us? Life is not fair. Anger, pain, denial
are all feelings that came to me over the next few days. There is no way to
describe the experience we went through. This was the bottom.

Well let me explain how things can change.

While life at that moment seemed lost, God had a
plan for us. I have never seen anything like it in my life. Nicole was
determined to get better so we could live a full life together and it was like
God was with her every step of the way.There is a power in positive thinking because Nicole always finds a way
to bring out the positive side of every situation. Each day Nicole seemed to
get better. Am I saying it was easy no, there were days of struggle, sickness,
and symptoms but somehow we got past it.

Over the next few years, life slowly returned to
“normal”.By “normal” I mean
exceptional. Nicole got better and better.She went from being on constant IV infused medication to an inhaler
(nebulizer).Growing up in Pensacola,
Nicole dreamed of the day she could swim in the water again and guess what… she
does every summer now! Not only is she physically better, we have grown as a
couple and as a family. We have two beautiful children now (both adopted since
we couldn’t biologically have children). They are amazing and the light of our
life. If you think that PH is the end and you can’t get better, stop and know
that it’s not true. Sure there are days
she doesn’t feel the greatest and yes she is still limited by physical
activities but in the grand scheme of things, she can do more than she can’t.

We are an example of how being positive will carry
you through. Pretty sure it’s evident by now but going back to where I started,
Nicole is what inspires my life and fills me with purpose. Sometimes people
tell me I am a good person because I have taken care of her but what they don’t
know is that it’s the exact opposite.Without her I would be lost. She is an amazing mother and wife that is
the driving force behind our family.

So for those of you that have someone you love
going through this be positive and uplifting.Your spouse/significant other needs your support and deserves it.It can be tough but I promise you it means so
much to them just for you to be at their side smiling and telling them you love
them. Live in the day and know that God’s plan will take you where you need to
go. It is so important to enjoy every day of the journey, even the tough ones.Let the little things
life throws at you go as it’s not worth it to stress over. Who knows, you could
end up like me with all your hopes and dreams coming true.